Complexity Investing & Semiconductors (with NZS Capital)

Of our 65+ sources for the TSMC episode, one stood above the rest: a wonderful Knowledge Project episode with Brinton Johns and Jon Bathgate of NZS Capital laying out the state of the semiconductor market. When coincidentally we met Brinton a week later, we knew fate was telling us we had to dig deeper. It turns out NZS has a lot more to teach Acquired than just about semis! Here we dive into their fascinating philosophy of "complexity investing", which was born out of their interactions with the world-famous Santa Fe Institute (of W. Brian Arthur and Increasing Returns fame!)... and of course we also throw in some semiconductor shop-talk for good measure. :)

Sponsors:

Anthropic: https://bit.ly/acquiredclaude25
Statsig: https://bit.ly/acquiredstatsig25
ServiceNow: https://bit.ly/acquiredsn

More Acquired!

• Get email updates with hints on next episode and follow-ups from recent episodes
• Join the Slack
• Subscribe to ACQ2
• Merch Store!

© Copyright 2015-2025 ACQ, LLC

Links:

• NZS Capital: https://www.nzscapital.com
• The Santa Fe Institute: https://www.santafe.edu
• NZS's white paper on Complexity Investing: https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5ca38f3216b6405d11e3d4b4/t/60131df6a8d27d63432ea5ff/1611865607574/Complexity_2021update-v9pt2.pdf
• Brinton & Jon on The Knowledge Project: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r6NUO_bymuA
• Twitter:
  • Brinton: https://twitter.com/bjohns3
  • Jon: https://twitter.com/jbathgate
  • Brad: https://twitter.com/bradsling

‍Note: Acquired hosts and guests may hold assets discussed in this episode. This podcast is not investment advice, and is intended for informational and entertainment purposes only. You should do your own research and make your own independent decisions when considering any financial transactions.